Classifying Clinically Referred Adolescent Substance Abusers by Level of Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms

• NCJ Number: 196012
• Journal: Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: 2001 Pages: 41-65
• Author(s): Cynthia L. Rowe; Howard A. Liddle; Gayle A. Dakof
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 25 pages
• Grant Number(s): P50 DA07697; F31 DA05724
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study grouped 236 clinically referred substance abusing adolescents on level of self-reported and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and they were compared on important variables.

Abstract

The intake form provided basic background and demographic information, including race, gender, age, and family income. Participants were administered the Personal Experience Inventory (PEI), which is an adolescent self-report measure designed to identify problems associated with adolescent substance involvement; the Adolescent Problem Severity Index (APSI), which was used to assess frequency and age of first substance use; the Child Behavior Checklist, which was used to assess adolescents' symptoms; and the Youth Self Report (YSR), an adolescent self-report measure that was also used to group subjects on externalizing and internalizing problems. Parent and family functioning were measured with the Parenting Style Questionnaire, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, and the Family Environment Scale. Three groups emerged: "externalizers," "exclusive substance abusers," and "mixed" (adolescents with both internalizing and externalizing symptoms). Exclusive substance abusers showed a general pattern of more positive functioning than adolescents in the other groups. Contrary to the study's hypothesis, adolescents in this sample did not tend to exhibit internalizing problems without coexisting externalizing problems, and the overall level of internalized distress for the entire sample was at the average level for the standardization sample. Parents tended to report higher levels of both externalizing and internalizing symptoms in their adolescent children than the adolescents themselves. Overall, the study showed that clinically referred adolescent substance abusers can be distinguished on levels of externalizing and internalizing problems and that family characteristics differentiate these groups. 5 tables and 54 references